I’m torn between Greg not knowing how good he had it growing up, or his parents really being straight up awful and Steven just not having all the context to see that. I think it was done intentionally that we won’t really ever see for ourselves. But I WILL say it is pretty messed up his parents never opened up Greg’s letters.
They weren’t actually listening to each other- like the usually do. Greg was so stressed with being in the house and so excited about the song playing he couldn’t see Steven’s interest in all the things Greg hated. & Steven was excited about all the normancy he couldn’t accept Greg’s perspective. That’s not them, just the stress of everything else.
Greg & Steven’s perspectives are their truths. Greg left the world he felt wasn’t right for him- so he could be who he wanted to be. Steven can reinvent himself too, he’s got to figure himself out tho.
Let me just speak up for Greg here. Because like….from the way things were in the house, what we heard from Greg, and especially the pictures hanging up…
That place looks IDENTICAL to the home of my bff when I was 15.
And my friend had a painfully stifling home life for her entire childhood. And I got to see it first hand when I would go over to her house. Her parents were uncomfortably strict. About anything and EVERYTHING you could imagine.
What she wore, how she styled her hair, what she ate, when she ate, HOW she ate, who she spoke to, what she was allowed to do, where she could go, how she should TALK, what extra curriculars she could sign up for, EVERYTHING.
My friend couldn’t wear anything her mom hadn’t chosen specifically for her, she wasn’t allowed to cut or do anything to her ‘pretty long hair’ except put a headband on, she wasn’t allowed to wear any kind of makeup, her parents even forbid her from reading “non christian books”.
She wasn’t allowed to make any REAL choices about herself or her own life. And I could see it was driving her INSANE. And when she WAS given “”choices”” they weren’t even really choices??? They were the ILLUSION of choice. Like when she wanted to go to a dance at school. She begged her mom to let her go for the entire MONTH leading up to it. And her mom only agreed to let her go once she signed on as a chaperone..
So like… I’m just saying. I KNOW how utterly miserable my friend was growing up in that kind of smothering environment. She literally left home and moved in with her bf as soon as she turned 18. And from the age progression pics of Greg… he looked more and more depressed as he grew up. So…
I feel like Greg’s folks were more in the ‘terrible parents’ territory.